Shinju Among the Spirits
by yurei king
Summary: Betrayed, Madara has nothing to lose and thus decides that just for once...he'll be the one throwing a wrench into someone's plans. His last act of spite against his manipulator gives birth to a whole new creature. Lets see how Soul Society handles the meddling of the number one hyperactive knucklehead god.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to my third rewrite of one of my stories. This is the new version of The Immortal. After what happened in the manga I realized how odd my original setup was, so I did some major overhaul and this is the result. Twelve pages of rebuilding from the ground up, hope it pays off.**

 **Now as I said in my first version, the original idea came from an author named MaelstromBankai and his story by the name of Demon King of Fairy Tail. His version takes place in the Fairy Tail universe (obviously) and though it has been awhile since it was updated I enjoyed it, so I recommend at least stopping by and giving it a read. Maybe you can nag a new story out of him/her.**

 **But, I made this story using the idea with MaelstromBankai's permission and I didn't want to let it die just cuz I seemingly dropped off the face of the map.**

 **Still, I don't want to get too much into it here so I'll just let you all get to it after addressing those two important issues:**

 **I do not own or make any money off of the Naruto or Bleach franchise.**

 **Thanks once more to Kamen Rider Arashi without whom I probably would have given up on this as a hobby a LOOOOONG time ago.**

 **With that out of the way: On with the chapter!**

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 **Chapter One**

What was once a place of natural beauty, where streams idly flowed through fields and clumps of forest, had been reduced to a barren wasteland. Cracked, pitted, scorched, soaked and more the ground had suffered greatly in this massive conflict. In almost the direct center of this devastation an impossibly large stump of a tree could be seen.

The wood had been severed with almost surgical precision and the flat top left behind was large enough an entire city could have been erected upon the open area with room to spare. From its base one could see its roots, each wider than a full-grown redwood could stand, stretching out in all directions. These stretches of wood reached across the massive continent known by its inhabitants as the Elemental Nations and all along their length dangled white cocoons holding almost all those who populated that land.

The group not counted among the captured masses numbered only six. They stood upon the great stump, four facing against two, and watched each other for a time.

One was a man with long wild hair the color of bone, a shade matched by the skin not covered by his heavy kimono of white and black. His eyes were peculiar, both a solid mass of purple with a small pupil in the center enclosed with repeating circles in a pattern resembling ripples in a lake. Stranger still was the third eye wide open in the center of his forehead. This one bore the same pattern as the others, but its background was the crimson of fresh blood and the ripples were dotted with tomoe that moved in hypnotic circles around the beady pupil.

This new pattern was mirrored on the moon high above in the clear night sky, casting its blooded rays on the earth below.

To this man's left and some few steps behind him in the manner of a subordinate was another man sporting strange features. His entire left side was covered in an ink black coating, that side's eye a glaring, angry red with three tomoe encircling the pupil. His right side, visible due to his wearing only a pair of ragged pants, was pale. The shade one sported when remaining out of direct sunlight for an extended period. The eye on this side was unfocused and plain, a simple ebony pupil on a backdrop of white. A series of deep scars covered this side of his face, the evidence of some gruesome wound from years past. Atop his head was a short cut mop of white hair.

Across from these two stood the last remaining members of the armies that had stood against them. The most eye-catching of the four glowed with an ethereal yellow light shrouding his body and taking the form of a haori, black marks accenting the clothing in eye catching ways. Stranger still were the six black orbs floating protectively just behind him, as if merely awaiting direction from their master. The gold of his eyes was accented by the bar of a pupil he possessed, like those seen in amphibians, cut vertically by a feline-like section. These eyes glared at their enemy with pure contempt.

At his side stood a less imposing young man, hair the shade of ebony framing a face of slender build with high cheekbones and pointed chin. His eyes were a mismatched pair as well. The right was a red iris marked with a pattern identical to that of the left eye on the man standing across from him. The left a field of purple with ripple-linked tomoe. His features remained a mask of neutrality, though a master of the art could easily pick out the tension in his body, like a snake coiled to strike at the slightest provocation.

Behind them were their teammates, both dressed in dark green flak jackets over matching sets of dark blue turtlenecks and trousers. A young girl with pink hair and green eyes and an older man with half his face covered by a mask and a shock of white hair adding to his already impressive height by defying gravity in its ability to stand almost straight up.

A heavy silence lay between the two groups, the quiet air around them seemed to still, no breath of wind or cry of an animal heard. A tense atmosphere so thick it could have been cut by the blade in the black-haired youth's hand lay over them like a cloak. Finally, it was the aforementioned swordsman who broke the silence.

"Be careful," his warning was spoken in a tone almost conversational. Mismatched eyes scanning the area around them and picking up the four figures standing around them. Each was identical to the white-clad man they opposed, yet completely invisible to any other kind of eye. "He's placed four of his Shadows around us."

The warning had been meant for the two behind them. He was well aware of his former friend's sensing ability being amplified. A fact proven when the blonde simply nodded, no sign of surprise in his expression as he continued watching their adversary.

"What's the plan?" the pinkette questioned, glove-wrapped fists raised and ready to act on command.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do anything," the man had not raised his voice very far beyond a conversational tone and yet was easily heard across the distance between them. "I've finally managed to achieve my goals after all." He paused to look around, an air of satisfaction exuding from him as he observed the captured men and women hanging from the roots. Then he faced them again with his face settling into a determined frown. "I have brought peace and happiness to our world and I will not allow anything to jeopardize them."

The glowing teen bared his teeth with a slight growl. "Peace? Happiness?" The way he spit those words back at the man made it seem like they tasted foul in his mouth. He swept an arm wreathed in fire across the landscape. "Look at this Madara! It's nothing but a lie!"

"I am disappointed that you of all people would attempt to interfere with the happiness of these people Naruto," the named man replied, mimicking the move and holding his arm out like an artist presenting their greatest work. "I have stopped all conflict and suffering with a single jutsu. They know no fear, no hatred, no hunger or thirst. I have changed what was once a hell of bloodshed and subterfuge into a paradise." He paused again, once more looking out onto the fruit of his labors. "At long last, I've managed to set right Hashirama's failure."

"Failure?" the girl parroted. "How did Hashirama-sama fail?"

She took a step forward, whether or not it was subconscious wasn't known but Naruto didn't seem willing to take the chance she would attack and set him off. "Sakura," his voice cracked out, his arm blocking her advance. They locked eyes and he slowly shook his head.

"In the beginning, we sought to change this world, the world of shinobi. We wanted to create a place where children were not sent to war," Madara continued seemingly unaware of the interaction between them. "The solution we settled on was to create the first shinobi village...but it did not lead to true peace."

His lips dropped into a snarl and his whole body seemed to tense at a memory only he could see. "The shinobi didn't stop killing each other. Instead more villages formed, which caused a more organized force of shinobi to be produced. An era of little battles here and there quickly became wars with countless deaths and the blood of millions running like rivers and staining the earth." He turned to face them. "That is Hashirama's legacy. He didn't stop the bloodshed, he simply created a way to make us even better at killing each other."

"Like you're one to talk," Naruto was quick to retort. "You started this war!"

"That is true, yet did I not offer the chance to just peacefully hand the biju over to me? All the death in this war could have been avoided, if you had but listened." His eyes turned up to crimson moon above them. "Now everyone has become a part of the Shinju, thanks to my work each of them are living in an ideal world of their own creation. A perfect world where everything they ever desired can become reality."

"And that is your idea of a perfect world?" the swordsman questioned. If Madara was content to monologue he might as well catch his breath and try to plan. He had some questions anyway. "You've trapped everyone into a genjutsu. A massive web of lies. You've doomed them all."

"You're wrong Sasuke," he chided like a parent to an unruly child. "I have become their savior. I've managed to stop the shinobi world from killing itself." His expression changed again, now relaxed as if a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "It's finally over."

If he had been paying attention, Madara might have caught the sudden surprise on the faces of younger shinobi. Instead, the only indication of something being wrong was when blinding pain erupted through his body and he felt something lancing through his back. His chest bulged outward almost immediately after that first sensation, a hand wrapped in black essence emerging from the hole it tore in his flesh.

" **That is where you are wrong,"** the graveled voice of Zetsu growled from behind him. The part around the mouth didn't move yet still the creature controlling his old follower's body managed to speak in its superior tone. **"You...have not saved anyone."** The arm twisted. **"And tonight's events have not yet reached their climax."**

Struggling to think through the pain from the sudden impalement, the man who thought himself finally invincible barely managed to turn his eyes. He could not even move his head to look at his attacker as something seemed to grab control of his body, freezing everything but apparently his facial muscles.

"Zetsu," he managed to gasp out. "What is...the...meaning of this?" He coughed, just barely managing the effort to spit the blood pooling in his mouth out. "Why do you...raise your hand...against your creator?"

The construct chuckled darkly. **"Poor Madara, you never even realized that you yourself were only ever caught up in a dream. A dream of my crafting."** The inhumanly sized grin the creature sported seemed to grow ever larger. **"I was never your will made manifest."** Its fingers curled into a fist and pain once again spiked through the man speared upon it. **"My will...is that of Kaguya."**

Upon the uttering of that name the stump of the Shinju seamed to pulse. A shiver ran from the point beneath Madara's feet and shot down into the roots to vanish from sight. The cocoon's the roots held aloft began to shiver of their own accord and Naruto's eyes widened.

In the form he had taken, his ability to sense chakra itself had been magnified to allow him an incredible amount of accuracy in the flow of the power around him. Now his senses were screaming, and he could feel an ocean of chakra from all over the continent rushing toward them beneath the ground.

Sasuke was alerted to the same phenomenon via sight thanks in part to his dojutsu. He watched in morbid fascination as each pod lit up like a torch, each one giving chakra to the tree which gathered the closer it came, becoming a tidal wave of pure power. He watched it split into the veins running through the wooden monolith and rush through their medium until slamming up into the frozen man before them.

A scream of pure agony was ripped from the legendary shinobi's throat as the chakra burned through him. As more flooded his system the dark energy of which Zetsu was composed spread like the webs of a spider, slowly staining his white body like tar. Soon the streams of chakra became too much for the wood to contain and geysers of blistering power began bursting though the wood and out into the sky, all drawn unerringly into Madara who continued to scream.

This overload of power was shown by his skin swelling, an unfamiliar white substance bubbling out from his pores to congeal into growing masses across his body.

"This...what the hell is this?" Naruto demanded. The sage had barely managed to maintain his footing as the tree lurched beneath him. "There's more chakra than the Juubi! Where's it all coming from?"

"The Zetsu must be drawing in chakra from everyone captured in the genjutsu," Sasuke replied, not quite believing it himself. "There's literally millions of people caught in the Shinju's roots."

"But that much power," the masked man's voice carried enough consternation to make up for the lack of visible expression he showed. "What are they planning to do with it?"

"It doesn't matter," the swordsman transferred the sword in his right hand to his left, the black crescent mark on his palm suddenly glowing a blue-tinged white as sparks of electricity began to wrap around the blade, thus greatly increasing its potential for damage. "We need to stop them before whatever Zetsu's planning can happen. Kakashi, you and Sakura hang back and look for an opening. Naruto, we need to move now!"

"Right!" Holding out his hand, the blonde paused long enough for the floating ball closest to the appendage to compress on itself, elongating into a staff which he grabbed before launching himself forward. Darting left he became a streak of golden light while Sasuke blurred from his place to appear to the right. The two darted in, staff and sword aimed for the arm Zetsu still held plunged into his supposed master's chest.

Yet the creature made no move to avoid...in fact it even chuckled. **"Like moths to the flame,"** he practically crooned. From atop the mass that was slowly beginning to envelop the resurrected Uchiha sprouted a mane of long white hair. This sudden growth caught the two off guard to the point they hesitated for but a moment. That moment was long enough for the deceptively quick locks to wrap them both up like a constrictor. **"Those powers Hagoromo gave you are the only remaining threat to Kaguya's return."**

Hear the creature finally withdrew his arm from Madara, the swelling mass leaving only his head from which the hair sprouted had grown large enough for his possessed body to stand on. Kneeling he placed the dark palm of his left hand against the mass itself, allowing it spread once again. **"Do not worry,"** he placated. **"Nobody is going to die. Even the first time Kaguya sought to bring the world under the effects of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, she never killed any of them. They will simply be reformed into more useful soldiers for her use."**

"Formed?" Kakashi mumbled, gears in his mind turning, processing this information. When they hit upon an answer he let a gasp escape him. "You can't mean..."

" **You seem to have realized,"** Black Zetsu chuckled darkly as he slowly melted off his host's body, more and more of himself spreading across the blob Madara was becoming. **"Yes Kakashi, the first group taken by Kaguya were changed into the Zetsu. Slowly, over the long passage of time they were drained of all individuality and became puppets for her control."**

" **It was amusingly easy to get Madara's help,"** he mused into the horrified silence his previous statement conjured. **"A few whispers in moments of weakness, making him think he was receiving some sort of sudden inspiration that eventually led him to the stone tablet.**

" **He found the information for the Infinite Tsukuyomi there and believed it was a technique left behind as a measure to bring peace to the world. Oh, the tablet was left behind by Hagoromo. But, I have existed for eons and he was never aware of my existence. That means I had quite a bit of time to make...revisions."**

"To," Madara struggled to speak, choking on his words before finally managing to get them out. "To what end does this serve?"

" **To guide you to fulfill my...no, to fulfill Kaguya's will!"** He chuckled again, obviously relishing in his moment of victory. **"You never realized but while you played the puppet master to Obito, the whole time you were but my own toy dancing upon the strings I pulled from the shadows."** By now Zetsu had completely left his host, letting the body drop unceremoniously in a heap on the ground as he continued in the revelry of his great reveal.

Unable to speak any further, Madara had no choice but to stare up into the night sky. His last sight as Zetsu's mass spread over him was of the moon, reflecting the light of his last jutsu over the world. Though even as darkness swallowed him, and his voice lost, the Uchiha's mind still worked at least for a little while longer. _'How could I have fallen so low,'_ that mind questioned. In the darkness, his mind's eye conjured up the image of his lifelong rival smiling down at him. _'Hashirama...I wonder...would you have so easily fallen for such a ruse?'_

He tried to laugh, his body shaking with mirth even though no sound could escape him. _'No,'_ he decided. _'You always had a way of turning any strategy on its head just by being nearby.'_ If he were to be honest it was one of the few things he agreed with Tobirama on. He had often overheard the younger Senju complain to his brother about the futility of making plans involving him simply because he was either too headstrong to listen or his impossible to predict luck for finding 'adventure' would suddenly kick in.

That sudden memory gave him pause. He could feel his mind fading, slowly drifting into the void as something else asserted itself. A foreign consciousness seeping into every corner of his waking mind and simply forcing its way through any sort of resistance. He only had a few moments before he was gone...was that enough time?

He remembered the faith Hashirama had in the goodness of man, and he remembered watching as Naruto Uzumaki acted in some ways almost exactly like him on the battlefield. _'Could I...be just a little reckless?'_ The hints of an idea tickled at what was left of his mind. _'Can I turn a plot on its head like him, just this once?'_

In the end, it simply came down to what did he have left to lose? Once again giving a laugh without sound, sluggish hands moved through the mass that encapsulated him. Like he was wrapped in the thickest swamp muck he forced them close, and once the tips of his fingers found each other he weaved the first sign in the chain required to enact his last-ditch effort.

As his hands moved into each symbol with practiced ease, though slower by far than he ever remembered being, he felt the memories surrounding this technique bubble to the surface. It was one he had personally and painstakingly developed for almost five years. Ever since the day he learned that he and his brother were going blind from using the Mangekyo Sharingan.

The theory had been that the caster could target another and then using their chakra guided in the jutsu could extract the necessary genetic material to replace damages inside the body. A sort of vampiric ability that would have allowed them to rebuild their eyes and keep using the otherworldly powers they granted without consequence.

On the day of its completion he had intended to try it out on one of their prisoners, some low-level bandit who possessed the ability to make his skin hard as iron to increase durability and strength. It was a technique better than that used by those who later became a founding clan in Takigakure. But when his men learned he was going to be testing an experimental jutsu that had yet to be tested they staunchly refused to let him do so himself. Citing his and his brother's importance to the clan and that the risks of the technique failing in some horrible fashion was not worth the possible results.

Eventually they had managed to convince him into allowing one of the minor members to perform the act. He had taught the young man the handsign chain he developed, the two spending several hours ensuring a flawless flow in order to avoid any user error. Once satisfied he gave permission for the jutsu to be performed. That was where everything had gone horrifyingly wrong.

After completing the fourteen-seal chain, the clansman placed a glowing palm onto the bandit's head. Almost immediately it became apparent he could not remove it, no matter how hard he struggled. Worse yet, they both screamed in pain and terror as the victim began to shrivel up as if drained of all moisture in his body. Madara had watched the events with Sharingan active, burning the consequences into his brain forever as he watched the clansman be engulfed in a mass that grew as the bandit shrank.

Soon everything that was another man was gone, only leaving his clothes behind, and where the young man had been now stood a white statue in the rough shape of a man. That statue was placed in Madara's study, intended to remain an example of haste and a testament to the importance of never letting desperation rule his actions. He was then forced to shelve his research into the matter as another series of clashes between his clan and the Senju were upon him.

For another month, such things continued until one day he entered his study to find the young man unconscious on the floor, the scattered remains of a white shell lay strewn about the room as evidence to where he had come from. The patriarch had called for medics, ordering them to run full examinations to determine his health. Hours later the clansman awoke and seemed perfectly fine.

As a further boon, he later demonstrated the same kekkei genkai as the bandit. Proving his jutsu to be not only a success, but even more capable than he originally thought. This was further evidenced by the clansman suddenly being able to list several hideaways his victim had established as a chain for his clan's raids. They found quite a bit of extra goods thanks to that information.

However, it soon became apparent that not all was well. The man began to stare into space at random intervals, and seemed to not recognize old friends at first. He later became paranoid and delusional, claiming to hear a voice screaming. Eventually it all piled up until one day he just snapped. Madara had been forced to kill the man himself, he never forgot the relieved look on his face as he drove his fist through his chest. Nor did he forget the barely audible whisper of thanks as his life slipped away and only a corpse was left behind.

' _Well,'_ he thought as the last sign, the tiger sign that usually heralded the onslaught of a Katon jutsu. _'Let's see if you have a luck as wild and favoring as Hashirama...Naruto Uzumaki.'_ He felt the foreign entity pause, seeming to realize something was amiss and a surge of urgency overcame him. Channeling what little chakra remained under his control Madara mentally invoked what would most likely truly become his final jutsu. _**'Ninpo: Douka no Jutsu'**_

Even as a new pain once again lanced through his body, Madara felt himself smile. _'One last gamble,'_ were his last thoughts before succumbing to the oblivion. _'Maybe I'll finally win a bet this time.'_

The feeling of having his chakra drained was not a new sensation for one Naruto Uzumaki. Several times his chakra, and that of the mass of living natural chakra in his stomach, had been drained under a wide variety of circumstances. Some, such as Yamato the co-captain assigned to his squad, had drained the fox's chakra to pull him from the berserker-like rage over exposure could cause. Others, like the strands of hair currently holding him place, were not so positive in their results.

He and the few people not caught up in Madara's illusion had just seen the man supposedly behind a great many of their life issues disappear into the black mass that had grown around his body. Despite the pain Naruto actually had a moment to think about that point. What was with all the puppet masters?

First everyone thought Nagato, more commonly known as Pein, was the leader of Akatsuki. But when he died it was Tobi, the seemingly simple-minded last-minute recruit who claimed to be Madara but was THEN exposed as Obito the long believed dead genin teammate to Naruto's own sensei, Kakashi.

But THEN the real Madara Uchiha shows up as an Edo Tensei zombie, whoops the collective asses of everyone (all five current Kage included) into next week and then forces said former teammate to resurrect him into a true flesh and blood battle. After which he then goes on to rip Kurama out of his stomach, merge with the most powerful force of nature and trap the entire continent into a dream just so he can erase his own defeat at the hands of his rival and become a so-called savior.

Yeah, it's a messed-up story but Naruto could at least follow it. But now there's another plot twist in what he could only assume was the brainchild of some cosmic being deciding it'd be fun to screw with his life by making one of the most notorious criminals in the known history of the Elemental Nations just another puppet. And it couldn't just be another criminal, no that'd be too simple.

No, the 'true' puppet master was a woman from thousands of years ago who just didn't get that nobody wanted to live under her thumb. Oh, and he better not forget the fact this woman at her prime had been powerful enough to obliterate armies with the same amount of effort he used when wiping his nose.

Now here he was, trapped along with Sasuke in a coil of hair like one of those giant snakes he'd seen when travelling through that swamp country with Jiraiya that also happened to be draining their chakra to fuel the ritual required to bring this Kaguya woman back.

Knowing time was short, Naruto reached out to the balls that even now still followed him. The closest of these objects, which the knowledge imparted by Hagoromo along with the ability to use them reminded him was called the Gudodama, elongated into a short staff and settled in the palm of the offered appendage. Gripping it tightly he lifted the weapon above his head with the intention of bringing it down on the strands binding him when the sensation changed completely.

Instead of the constant draining and slow weakening he had felt since touching that hair, a wave of power washed over Naruto, filling his reserves instantly to their capacity and a gasp of shock escaped him. This shock was almost immediately followed by blinding pain as the chakra continued filling him, rushing into the coils of his chakra network until he felt them rupture. Like Madara had done before the blonde threw his head back and screamed as the chakra that had been pouring into the resurrecting woman flowed down her hair and into himself.

In the haze that settled over his mind the genin never heard Sakura and Kakashi cry out in concern or the answering agonized wail Sasuke emitted when the rate his chakra was draining multiplied. Without thinking the two left unbound moved to aid their comrades. Kakashi made for Naruto, hand wreathed in lightning dropping toward the hair in a chopping motion intent on severing the connection. Sakura rushed to the young Uchiha, her own hand gripped around a kunai with an extended blade wreathed in chakra to increase its durability.

Both struck the hair at almost the exact same moment, and then they both added their screams to those of their teammates. Like the clansman that first used Madara's jutsu, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi began to shrivel as if all moisture were being expelled from their bodies at once. In a horrifying repeat of recent events, a viscous white substance began to seep from the pores in Naruto's skin. The young man in question remained oblivious, for there was only room in his mind for the pain, eyes clinched so all he saw was the darkness as he tried to make some sense of what was happening.

And then his world turned white. The pure agony burning from every cell receded with a suddenness that left him gasping on hands and knees, staring at his reflection in the surface of the water he was resting on top of. It was still there, but now it was only on the level of a full-body ache and left him at least clear headed enough to take in his surroundings.

Gasping from the experience of yet another rush of sensations via the input of his nervous system the young shinobi forced himself to breathe deeply, drawing on the discipline and self-control instilled from his training in the arts of senjutsu. Once assured in his self-control he looked up to meet the gaze of Hagoromo for the second time today.

"What happened out there Hagoromo-jiji?"

Floating above the water and his own manifestation of the **Gudodama** , the man who had been heralded as the true Shinobi no Kami was frowning as he met the gaze of his countless many times over grandson. One hand stroked the pale red goatee protruding from his chin while the other gripped the shaft of his shakujo lightly. "It would seem Madara had one last trick up his sleeve," he replied. When Naruto raised an enquiring eyebrow whilst managing to lift himself up to a kneeling position the sage elaborated. "Through the tether left by his being a former incarnation of my eldest I was able to sense his final thoughts. He decided to use a technique of his own creation to force all the power he absorbed into you."

He paused to make sure Naruto was following, receiving a nod he continued. "Unfortunately, his ninjutsu worked even better than he hoped. He intended to merge the chakra he had already absorbed and his own flesh and blood into yours believing the willpower both you and Kurama had displayed would be enough to keep you in control. But he had not realized how deep the connection between the Shinju, and through it everyone connected to its roots, and his changing body ran. Because of this, you are now in the process of absorbing everyone bound by the Shinju which means the entire continent of the Elemental Nations."

Here he paused again, expression saddened and grew even more so at the horror shown in his descendant's own. Sensing where his thoughts were going he shook his head. "I cannot stop the merger," his words were blunt as they answered the impending question. "I gave almost all of my power to you and Indra's successor, I have enough to manifest on the mortal plain and work a few techniques but no counter to this technique was ever created." He let the words hang for a moment and then bowed his head. "I am sorry. This was not how I wished for things to proceed."

He heard the boy shift but remained motionless, waiting for his reaction. "Well this sucks." Unable to help himself the elder sage's eyes snapped up to see Naruto had managed to reach his feet and was standing with arms crossed as he looked out into the white void around them. "Do you know what will happen?"

"Judging from the memories I saw in Madara's last moments you will be encased in a mass similar to that which covered him. Over time the merging process will complete, and a new being will emerge. Though who that being will be I am not sure."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, that many minds being sucked into one body it'll probably be a fight for the top."

"Perhaps not, after all there is the will of the Shinju itself to consider."

"What do you mean?"

Hagoromo felt back in his comfort zone, after all he always took great pleasure in imparting knowledge of any kind to those in need. "The Shinju is ancient Naruto. It was ancient before Kaguya was born and it has only become more so with the passage of time to this modern day. Something so ancient, and as powerful as it was then, would undoubtedly possess some measure of its own will."

"So, it was alive?"

"All trees and plants can be considered alive Naruto," he gently chided. "But I do not believe it was capable of thought to the level of you or I, but at it was aware in a basic manner. Like the nature spirits you've heard of in the lore of some civilizations." Here he waved off the subject. "But we do not have time to delve fully into the subject. Time, I'm afraid, is running out for us and I believe you would at least wish to say goodbye to some acquaintances."

The sage let his eyes close and his head lean back, spreading his arms up to the void. There was a pulse of energy and when Naruto blinked he found himself once again surrounded by the towering forms of the Biju. "Unfortunately, I was too slow to react in time to bring your teammates in before they were absorbed into the mass," he said, and Naruto could see the perspiration from the effort he'd just made. "They were the first to be completely taken in as they were the closest to you." Breathing deeply to steady himself, the ancient sage and father of the nine cleared his throat. "I am going to return to the outside world, your resurrected kage are reconstituting as we speak, and I am going to use them to prepare things on the outside."

"Prepare?"

"Gathering clothes and any weapons of note from the remains of this world," he explained. "We will also go to the separate villages to gather whatever knowledge we can and seal them away with you in the **Kamui.** " His expression turned grim. "I do not know what shall happen to this world after I fade back into the spiritual realm, but I believe it would be dangerous to leave such knowledge as it is for now." Naruto saw his shoulders dip and his head bow as if the weight of all his years were suddenly resting on him. "I had hoped humanity would prove my mother wrong," he continued. "That my teachings would help them bring peace. But it seems mankind truly are flawed."

The teen shifted on his feet, his own expression one of discomfort and contemplation. "Yeah, I can't really argue with that," he confessed. He met the sage's gaze when he raised his head. "We're all a bit messed up in some way or another. We get angry and lash out. We get sad and find ways to show it that aren't exactly…helpful. Or some of us act like my old teacher and are hopeless, shameless perverts. To be honest a real peace where everyone gets along may be just shy of impossible." The silence after those words seemed to hang like a thick blanket over them, even the observers hesitated to speak, curious where this conversation would go.

The blonde sage's lips curled up into the slightest of smiles and when he spoke again his tone was one of someone who still had hope. "But that doesn't mean we can just give up right? After all, doing the impossible is kind of my pastime. Plus, I still think it's a goal worth working toward."

"Well said!" Sages both young and old turned their heads toward the new voice so fast one could almost swear they heard bones pop. Their gazes immediately locked onto the red-haired man who sat cross-legged on the head of Son Goku, the giant red-furred gorilla with four tails resembling the tentacles of an octopus sprouting from his backside. The shock of seeing someone else in this plane left them both speechless long enough for the man to uncross his arms and let himself drop down to the watery floor. Surprisingly, despite the momentum he must have gathered from such a high fall the water was barely disturbed when his feet slammed into it. "What's the matter Naruto?" he gave a cheeky grin as he got closer. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Wha-how-but…I thought the old man just brought his kids here?"

"Considering out own souls were sucked into that big thing they turned into the Juubi we're still kinda connected to them," the former shinobi of Iwagakure answered. Naruto was about to question that little we part until seven other figures appeared around them, the other hosts all together one last time.

The one Naruto recognized as Yugito, the blonde kunoichi from Kumogakure and the former host to the Nibi, Matatabi, stepped up with a gentle smile. "So, when the sage called his children we were able to hitch a ride along, so we could have a few words before getting absorbed too."

Gathering his wits about him finally, Naruto shook his head and couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm glad I got to see you all again." He made sure to look up at the biju to make sure they knew he was including them in that statement and was rewarded with shared glances and chuckles between the giant chakra beasts. "So, what all did you wanna say?"

"We'll get our chance," Gaara said, apparently his own past link to Shukaku being enough to bring him into the plane. Naruto spared a moment to wonder if the giant tanuki had reached out through the link the assimilation technique had created to drag him there before focusing on his friends' next words as the sand user lifted a hand to point at something behind the blonde. "But I believe there's someone else who deserves the first word."

One eyebrow rose in confusion and he turned to look in the direction indicated…and immediately felt his jaw drop. The sight capable of inducing such a reaction in someone who has had multiple mental bombshells dropped on him in one evening was that a second Kurama was standing behind him. This one sported a darker shade of fur than the one Naruto was familiar with but that was something he only vaguely took note of due to who exactly was sitting on the top of the massive fox's head directly between the two overly-long ears.

The man appeared to be the spitting image of what Naruto would look like in only a few years. The only thing missing really was the whisker marks on his cheeks and a little baby fat around his jawline. His clothing was mostly consistent with the greater majority of shinobi from the village of Konohagakure. A dark green flak jacket over a navy turtleneck and matching pants tapped at the ankles though unlike most his sandals were black. The main aspect of his uniform catching the eye of any who saw him was the white haori he wore over the rest. Its sleeves were short, and its hem was decorated with red flames as a symbol of his station as Hokage. Unlike the last time Naruto had seen this man, he did not have the black sclera and cracked skin of someone resurrected through the **Edo Tensei**. Instead his blue eyes and skin were normal for any human appearance.

"…Dad?" That one word, uttered at the level of the quietest whisper, managed to reach the ears of all around the young sage, including the man on top of the fox's head. The man's expression was one of pride tinged with a hint of sorrow, and it didn't change even as his arm snapped up and let fly one of his signature tri-pronged kunai. The blade whistled as it cut through the air, its trajectory obviously heading toward the ground right in front of Naruto. Just as it was reaching the level of the younger blonde's chest, however, the elder suddenly appeared in the flash of golden light that served as the source of his moniker with one hand wrapped around the weapon's handle and he landed standing at his full height looking down to meet his son's eyes with his own.

"Hello again Naruto," the revived Minato Namikaze greeted his son. "I don't know how much time we have here, so I won't beat around the bush." The elder blonde stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the younger. "I'm proud of you son," he whispered in the boy's ear. "You've grown up to be a fine man and I couldn't be happier to know I was right to place my faith in you all those years ago."

Slowly, Naruto's arms raised and wrapped around Minato, returning the tight embrace. "Thank you, dad."

How long they stood that way, neither of them would have been able to tell, but eventually they did part. Trying hard to quell the tears threatening to fall, Naruto turned to the others and noticed Hagoromo had waited long enough to give him one last parting nod before fading from the mental plane to begin his task. "So, what all did you guys want to say?"

"Mostly we're here to see you off," the green-haired girl Naruto recognized as the host of Chomei, the Nanabi. Though given the bug had wings instead of tails he was a bit confused on the whole 'tails' part of that name but he didn't really have time to bring that up. "Aside from the redhead and muscles," she pointed at Gaara and B to indicate which one she meant in that reference, "we don't really know you as much, but we have been watching the fight and I think you were doing a pretty good job."

"Thanks Fu," he said. "So, you guys are all going to be absorbed too?"

"That is the most likely of outcomes," Han, the red-armored giant who served as the host to the Gobi, had a voice fitting his imposing frame. It was deep, and at ease given the circumstances. "Kokuo and the others are being absorbed and seeing as we still bear a connection to the biju it is safe to assume we will be as well."

"Which can be a good thing," Roshi stepped in to add his two cents. "That means if you can access our memories learning how to fight like we did could give you a foundation for learning yourself. You're going to have a whole lot of power after all, so you'd best learn how to use it."

Naruto frowned and turned his eyes up to the biju themselves. "Do you guys think you'll get stuck in all this or do you think you'll be separate minds?"

Kurama sighed and rose one paw to scratch at the underside of his jaw. **"It's hard to say,"** was his reply. **"We've been around so long it's possible we'll be able to keep ourselves separate at least to some level, but we honestly won't know until it happens."** He raised his massive shoulders in a shrug. It was quite obvious the thought of the unknown to such ancient beings was a daunting one and they were all obviously unsettled.

Naruto sighed, crossing his arms and frowning in thought. A moment later he dropped to the water, crossing legs and resting his hands on his knees. "So, you all want to stay with me as long as you can? Might as well have some company on the way out."

The sudden change in demeanor seemed to throw most of the others off, though Gaara and B seemed to take it in stride. The two who knew him the most out of the group, besides the giant fox currently imitating his former host by letting himself stretch out onto the floor, moved to join him with the others following their lead. Minato watched them for a time just observing his son's interaction amongst the group before B began telling about another time he had met Minato on the battlefield. Seeing as he was a member of the subject matter the Yondaime decided it was only fair he get in on the discussion and was soon sitting with the rest of them. The ten warriors sat in a ring surrounded by the living chakra constructs, all sharing stories and jokes from their lives. They began to fade as time passed, Gaara the first to disappear along with Shukaku as the integration finally finished. Yugito and Matatabi followed some hours later and up the numbers it went until only Bee, Naruto, Minato and their respective charges were left.

The white-haired man hesitated for a moment as the waving bodies of Fu and Chomei faded from sight, lips quirked in a ponderous frown before letting a heavy sigh of his own slip through. He had kept a cheery demeanor throughout most of the conversation, keeping his horrible rhymes going even when Yugito smacked him spreading laughter among the group. That demeanor had cracked a bit when said woman had faded away, but he soldiered on.

Now, as he reached up a hand to pull away the sunglasses that seemed forever attached to the bridge of his nose he let a more serious tone leak through. "Naruto…I don't regret following you into the war so don't blame yourself too much for that alright?" He smiled. "In fact, I'm glad I did since I finally got big bro to stop being so overprotective." His eyes, now revealed to be a shade of teal, locked with the sapphire of Naruto's and held the gaze. When Naruto finally nodded he returned the gesture and redonned his signature glasses. "Now then, how about I tell you fools about the time I switched bro's protein powder with a laxative?"

The self-proclaimed rapping master kept his audience in stitches right up until Gyuki called out it was they're turn. Instead of parting with words B simply offered his fist in the manner Naruto had grown accustomed to in the short time they'd known each other, and the blonde pressed his fist against it, the two sharing a brief nod before B jumped up to his partner's nose. Said partner raised his own fist, tapping it against the ones offered by Naruto, Minato and both sides of Kurama before they too faded from the mindscape.

Father and son were left with only foxes as company now. For a while they traded more stories like before, though it was Kurama who decided to tell him about the time the orange-lover was pushed into a liplock with Sasuke. The cursing he got from his host would have turned a sailor's ears red and Minato's laughter echoed for seemingly miles in the empty void around them. Eventually the conversation petered out, leaving a somewhat comfortable silence hanging between the final four.

The ears of the yin half of Kurama perked up and he rose to stand on all fours with a grumble. "It's time Minato."

"Yeah," he replied, lifting to his feet followed by his son. His smile was small, his joy at having been able to finally speak with his son combined with the sorrow of knowing it would be the last time they talked for at least an extremely long time. Suddenly his eyes widened, and he began to chuckle. "Y'know I almost completely forgot something." Reaching out he let his hand rest atop Naruto's head. "Happy Birthday Naruto."

Unable to form a word in reply the teen nodded, stepping forward to hug his father one last time, a gesture the man happily, and tearfully, returned. They parted, and Minato returned to the dark fox's head and the two waved to their almost perfect mirror images before they too faded away. Naruto managed to hold it together to the point he couldn't see them anymore…and then he let the tears fall. He didn't seem to notice when Kurama's tails wrapped around him until he grabbed hold of the fur and let the frustrations he'd been hiding loose now that nobody else could see him.

All his dreams had been crushed. He would never become Hokage, never see Tsunade smile as she handed the hat over. He would never get to talk with Hinata about what she'd said. He would never get to keep his promise to Sakura. Never see his friends achieve their dreams. It was all gone, because some super-powered woman from the past just **had** to come back and take over everything and a certain red-eyed man had to be a sore loser.

So, he cried. For the lives lost, the dreams shattered, the opportunities forever beyond him now. For this all and more he wept, until no more tears would come. Kurama stayed by him the whole time, offering the silent companionship he knew Naruto needed. Eventually the sobs ended, and the young sage managed to stand unaided, if a little shaky. "Thanks." The fox nodded and once more laid down, angling his body around his host.

" **Just us now,"** he said. **"You'd best start concentrating. We don't know how the dominant mind will be chosen so it would be wise to prepare just in case it'll be a struggle."**

Naruto nodded, his body seemingly moving on autopilot as he took the meditative position he had used when training with the toads on Mt. Myoboku. "Hey, Kurama?"

" **Yes?"**

The blonde turned to meet his partner's burning red eyes with his own. "Thanks for helping me in the fight."

A rumbling chuckle shook the giant body as he closed his eyes and prepared for when he too would fade. **"It was a pleasure fighting with you, Naruto."**

 **XXXXX-Outside-XXXXX**

Still hovering with his legs crossed, Hagoromo did not look away from the massive white blob that held the accumulated bodies and minds of the Elemental Nations' inhabitants. In size he believed it exceeded Shukaku in height and girth and its weight was something he didn't really want to contemplate. His entire legacy now rested within that blob, it would have been a sobering thought if he was not already saddened by the day's events.

The sound of bodies coming out of high speed movement and landing all around him pulled the sage from his somber thoughts and he turned to face the newcomers. All the past kage stood in a half circle around him, called back from the realm of the dead one last time to aid him. "Did you retrieve everything?"

"Yes," the elder of the Senju brothers replied. Hashirama stepped forward and presented the large scroll he and his colleagues had used to hold all teachings and knowledge of chakra they could find. Each group had a similar scroll of items and books gathered from their villages and homelands. Such was the extensive search that Madara's last technique had finished its work almost twenty-four hours before now. They had scoured the land, searching for every last scrap of knowledge in order to fulfill the sage's last wish.

Said ancient man himself had scrolls of his own floating beside him, containing the clothes, weapons, and other personal effects of the shinobi forces that had taken part in the war itself. The smaller of the two contained items Hagoromo was especially sure Naruto, should he come out the dominant personality, would be happy to have.

"Very well, please place the scrolls next to the amalgamation and I shall begin the technique." They did as he instructed, falling back behind the man who first spread the teachings of chakra and watching him work without uttering another word. Hagoromo placed his palms together, closing his eyes as he gathered the last dregs of his will and power to send his target to the place between dimensions. His eyes snapped open and he spoke a single word accompanied with the release of a great surge of chakra. **"Kamui."**

Space began to warp, twisting in a swirl resembling a maelstrom originating on a point directly in front of where Hagoromo hovered. A constant tearing sound of displaced air began to ring out and the kage all watched as the massive white boulder began to disappear into this warped portal, the scrolls vanishing along with it. When it vanished completely, the elder let his hands fall to his lap and sighed. "I will release you now," he turned to face those who had aided him in these last hours. "I thank you all and I wish you peace in the hereafter." A wave and new burst of chakra dispelled the technique holding the fallen to the mortal plane and they fell away like dust in the wind.

When the last traces were gone, the father of Ninshu turned back to face the place where the Shinju had been replanted and his mother almost revived. "Good luck Naruto," he whispered, and then let himself fade. Releasing his own grip on the place between worlds Hagoromo passed completely into the realm of spirits, leaving behind a torn battlefield and an empty continent.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 **Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand Cut!**

 **Well dag gum that's a new chapter done. Hope you all enjoyed it.**

 **I'm not going to say much here, other than I welcome all comments and constructive criticism. Flames will be used to heat my house cuz winter isn't coming, it's here and I need all the heat I can get.**

 **Pairings are currently undecided so I'm willing to listen to suggestions but if you just say "Use this person cuz she's hot!" or something similar I shall ignore it. If, however, you provide a thorough reasoning as to** _ **why**_ **someone would be a good fit for Naruto, then I shall consider it and even be glad to discus it.**

 **Anyway, that's about it for now, let me know what you think and I'll hopefully have the next chapter out in less than a year this time. But until then, this is Yurei King signing out. Happy New Year y'all.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back everyone! Second chapter is here to give you all a few minutes to wander the wild world that is Naruto's life! Little gift from the birthday boy to his fans for you all.**

 **Gonna warn now this is focused on Naruto no in the Bleach world yet, some necessary stuff I didn't want to have to build a whole dang bunch of flashbacks and plan their placements. Granted, some that will most likely be happening, but I figured giving you the chance to witness Naruto's 'birth' instead of just jumping straight into his involvement with Bleachworld.**

 **Anyway that's enough words up here I'll get the legal stuff outta the way and let you get on with reading. Unless you skipped all this and thus…why am I even continuing?**

 **I do not own, or make money off of, Naruto or Bleach.**

 **Chapter Two: Rebirth**

Blocks of stone in all manner of sizes drifted aimlessly in the black void of the Kamui Space. Each cut into a perfect cube and seemingly weightless, undirected in their movements. In this pocket between dimensions, the only source of light happened to be these very cubes, their surfaces emitting a pale gray light that just managed to fend off the encroaching darkness. Some of the stones drifted together to provide larger platforms which at one time the few capable of accessing this realm could use as battlegrounds.

One of these gathered platforms had formed from a series of smaller cubes gathered around one large enough to support a mansion. This central stone held what appeared to be a statue in its very center. It bore the likeness of a man, its ivory surface seemingly carved to showcase the ideal physique as it stood just over six feet in height and while muscles were clearly visible thanks to the lack of clothing it was not in the manner of a bulky bodybuilder. No, the figure was streamlined, as if built for flexibility and speed.

He stood with a silent vigil, eyes closed, face lacking any sort of expression beyond peaceful contemplation. Hair colored the same shade as his skin had grown in a mass of wild spikes that ended just above the curve of his buttocks, not a strand moved due to the lack of wind in this space.

None had witnessed the metamorphoses that birthed this figure. Over countless years the massive white bolder an ancient sage long past had placed here slowly shrunk into itself, receding inch by inch. During such time a series of faces occasionally pressed out of the surface. Some of these faces seemed angered, roaring voiceless battle cries. Others appeared to smile broadly, while some were locked in the likeness of restful slumber. Time after time these faces grew and receded as if some unknown entity were deciding which one was best to fit some unspoken purpose.

Finally, a face rose that remained, a face around which the mass seemed to center itself, changing into a body as it grew smaller over the decades until only the ivory man remained. The desperate jutsu of a failing man had formed this being, and the final stage of this technique was only just now coming to a close.

As the void alone witnessed, black markings seeped across the skin of the man. Around the closed eyes a thin border formed while a vertical line spread down his forehead leaving his brow perfectly divided. Across the span of his cheeks he gained three horizontal bars each thick as his pinky. From around his navel a spiral grew out, marking across the chiseled abdominal muscles in the form of a whirlpool.

Moments after these marks solidified the man's rigid posture relaxed, shoulders drooping ever so slightly as his lips parted in a soft sigh. Then, the man opened his eyes. All three of them.

The two eyes positioned exactly where expected on the usual human face were pools of soft purple with a small pupil surrounded by the rippled rings of the Rinnegan. From its position on his forehead the third eye was the red most commonly associated with the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan, its ripples dotted by the tomoe to show it as the eye that had once captured an entire nation of people in a perfect illusion.

For a moment these eyes stared out at the abyss that had held their possessor for some time before blinking. He rolled his shoulders, grunting as he felt bones pop, and then lifted his hands to examine them. He noted the shade his skin had taken and how they contrasted with the symbols on his palms. A golden sun on his right palm, and a crescent moon of ebony on the right. Ignoring them for now he curled the fingers into a fist, flexing and relaxing his muscles to get a feel for them.

The stoic expression his features had been set in since his revival began to change, lips quirking into a small smile that steadily grew into the broadest of grins. With a shout of joy his fist shot into the air. "Oh yeah!" his cry rang out. "Naruto Uzumaki is proven the number one shinobi! Take that world!"

His elation was short lived, as the sudden movement had brought another matter to his attention and he glanced down to find himself lacking in even a stitch of clothing. Quirking an eyebrow at that he let his arm drop and his eyes rise to scope the surrounding area. It didn't take long to locate the large scroll Hagoromo had promised in their last conversation. Though seeing more than one left him slightly confused but he decided to think on it later. Right now, his first priority was one most would probably understand: clothing.

He had meant to jog but in less time, it takes a human to blink Naruto found himself standing over the scroll. "Yeeeeah," he droned looking back where he once stood. "Looks like I'm going to be doing a lot of training to get used to this new body." Such things, he decided, could wait though.

With that in mind the former blonde knelt and placed the small scroll he found atop the pile to the side. It was likely the old sage had left some important stuff in there but right now he just wanted some clothing. He'd check the other stuff later.

Thus, the newly reformed sage untied the thread holding one of the larger scrolls together and unfurled it. He was lucky to find the first seal was one labeled "Clothes" and without thinking placed a hand over the fuinjutsu markings and pulsed his chakra in the normal method of releasing the contents. What followed was an explosion of fabric as every article held within was expelled at once from the pocket space created by seal.

Feeling thankful for his solitude the reborn genin pulled a pair of boxers from where they had landed atop his head and sniffed them. Despite the fact they were white with pink hearts, some of the most cliched print one could imagine, his nose detected no hint of soiling. In fact, this pair still had a price tag hanging from the waistband. "...Did Hagoromo-jiji loot a store to get this stuff?"

He spared a moment to ponder on the image of the old sage robbing a store, chuckling at the sheer absurdity before removing the tag and slipping the garment into place. His dignity now somewhat restored the teen put off collecting the rest of the clothes and sat down on the floating stone, crossing his legs and resting his palms on his knees in the pose he had learned when first learning the art of Senjutsu.

Breathing deeply Naruto closed his eyes, exhaling and allowing his mind to wander. As he had done so many times before the young sage called up the mental image of a mountain. He pictured himself resting on the mountain's tip, his thoughts represented by the storm that raged all around him. His worries and doubts were the wind that bombarded him like a thousand hammers, fears fell like hail and sleet, while a million memories were like the rain and thunder.

When his training first began Naruto had tried at first to simply ignore these stimulations, believing that if he didn't recognize them then they would fade away and allow him to find peace. When that was quickly proven a failure, and with some advice from the old sages instructing him, he had instead simply accepted them. They were a part of him, not something he could just bury and hope to vanish.

"Everyone doubts Naruto," Fukasaku had said during one of their breaks. "Jiraiya, myself, my wife, Gamabunta, everyone on this planet doubts themselves, others, and they all fear something. You're not supposed to purge them, since that's simply impossible. You just can't let them control you either. You need a balance." The old toad had smiled stroking that little goatee of his as he considered his words. "When Shima and I began training in the arts of Senjutsu we hit a wall like this at first as well. Our teacher told us something then which I believe can help you now."

He paused, trying to remember the exact words. "Think of your doubts and fears as a counter to your confidence. They prevent it from growing into arrogance. Memories remind us of who we were, we must never forget what put us on the paths we walk after all, but they also contain the knowledge we use to forge who we are. They do not anchor us to a fate, merely provide experience you can use to make new choices."

Remembering those words Naruto put the training into practice. With a will he moved not to dissipate the storm, merely to harness it. The winds moved around his mental avatar, changing from a banshee's wail to a gentle caress, reminding him that he was not perfect, yet the thought provided a since of joy in knowing that meant he had more to learn. The rain cooled his infamous temper, calming the fountain of energy that forever seemed to course through his body. The clouds of confusion parted above, allowing the sun to shine down through the eye of the storm and bathe him in a tranquil light.

Finally achieving the balance he needed, Naruto let his mind sink into itself and was rewarded when he felt the world around him shift. Feeling the rough stone beneath him change to a smooth, polished surface he released his breath, allowing his eyes to open to find himself in his mindscape.

The first thing he noticed was that beneath his crossed legs and boxer-clad buns was a perfectly round stone platform just wide enough for him to lay down on comfortably. Its sanded top rose just enough above the surface of the pond surrounding it that the water didn't cover it and was decorated by a carving of a swirl exactly like the one that marked his abdominal area in the center of which he was sitting.

Turning his eyes upward he found himself gazing out over a cliff. Beyond the edges he could see a forest of thick trees that followed the earth below until ending in a great sea. He was too far to hear the waves lapping against the sandy shore, but he could see them easily. Smiling, the sage rose to stand fully and that's when he noticed another detail. Roots spread around the pool, dipping into the slightly glowing water all around its edges. Each of these roots had grown from behind him, he could find none leading off to the front and the corners of his mouth dipped into a thoughtful frown. Suspecting their origin and wishing to confirm it he turned and found a sight that truly baffled him.

The pool in which he stood was in the center of a courtyard, each side framed by a pair of gargantuan roots that trailed out until they dropped over the cliff's edge to vanish from sight. At the juncture where these roots originated stood a large manor he would expect belonged to some daimyo. The shingled sloped roof over walls of rich wood and rice paper. A pair of komainu framed a set of carved stone steps leading to the front door. But while the manor itself was impressive, what rose directly behind it was breathtaking.

It was a tree. Twice as wide as the palm tree he saw when Madara had enacted his plan and its branches seemed to stretch out for miles. His enhanced eyesight picked out individual leaves, each longer than he was tall and sporting a vibrant green color speaking of good health. Its shadow covered far, offering cover from the sun and creating a dancing light as the leaves shifted in the wind. Such a specimen before him Naruto could only believe to be one thing. The Shinju in all its original glory. Truly, this was deserving of the term god tree.

Regaining focus, he shook his head to banish such thoughts for later as his gaze dropped back to the manor. A pull of some instinct he couldn't truly identify was calling out to him and he meant to investigate.

With that in mind he closed his eyes, focusing on that pull and reached out with his will. The world around him was a construct of his own mind which in turn meant it was his to command should he desire it and as he desired to find the source of this feeling he felt the mindscape shift according to that wish. There was a moment, a flash of movement where it seemed to world had warped beneath his feet and then almost immediately after grew still and when he opened his eyes again it was to find himself in a chamber below ground.

Surrounding him were walls appearing to have been formed by hands grasping at clumps of earth, only visible due to the silver light emanating from the sphere which protected its castor from the roots attempting to envelop her. Its protection was not absolute, some questing tendrils had managed to worm their way through to bind the once regal woman who knelt before him. Long ivory tresses pooled around her and despite the obvious exhaustion she felt the woman's three eyes glared into their opposites with obvious disdain. Her eyes were those of the Byakugan he had grown quite familiar with, but the center eyes was an exact mirror of his own and her full, red lips stood out against her pale white face as they frowned at him.

"You must be Kaguya," were Naruto's first words. "We've never met but that's the only thing that makes sense anyway."

His words hung between them yet she continued to stare at him, as if debating whether any sort of conversation was even worth the effort. When Naruto made no move to say further, she sighed. "I am," she finally replied. "Are you here to gloat thief?"

A white eyebrow arched. "Thief?"

"You have taken my power and the Shinju has cast me aside for you to take my place. Thief is a fitting title for one who has done such."

"I took nothing," he replied after a moment's pause. "This was never what I wanted."

"Nor shall you give it back as is right."

"I don't trust you to do anything good with it so no."

"Then you remain a lowly thief." A long pause of tense silence followed her words, Naruto regarding her with a frown, arms crossed he stared into her eyes. To Kaguya it was as if he were trying to discern some answer to a question he didn't wish to voice. "Is there something you wish to say to me thief?"

He didn't answer for some time and when he did it was with a shake of his head. "I don't want to fight you," he said with a tired sigh. "To be honest I'd like it if we could find some sort of understanding, but something tells me that's gonna take a lot of work." A hand rose to scratch at the back of his neck as he continued to think before nodding to himself and reaching that hand out to her. Once again, the mental world shifted, and the small crude chamber melted away. The Shinju's roots pulled back from the former goddess but before she could make any kind of move aggressive or otherwise a set of metal barred doors fell between them with a thunderous crash that shook the floor beneath them.

Looking beyond her captor, Kaguya could see they had moved to where he was now standing on a ledge presumably sticking out from the side of a cliff. No, her eyes narrowed as she further examined the floor, it was solid wood. No panels to show boards placed together but instead like it had simply grown around them. From behind her cell's doors she could see the forest that covered the island and the sea beyond. She felt a shift in the space around her and turned to investigate. The rough stone below her changed as she watched, becoming a polished wooden floor, once again appearing to be a solid piece, from which grew a large four-poster bed with thick curtains that seemed capable of blocking out the light should she desire it. A decently sized pit was carved into the floor, a merry fire crackling within, and a door formed out of the far wall. When it opened of its own accord the woman found a bathroom complete with a large tub and sink lined with hairbrush, comb and other toiletry items.

"A gilded cage for your songbird?" she quipped. She was obviously not very impressed with the change in scenery.

"I just want to show that I'm not some horrible villain bent on forcing you to work with me," Naruto replied, his hand dropping back to his side. "But I'm also not stupid enough to just trust you outright either so I'm not letting you out." When she chose to be the silent one he shrugged and waved about the room. "Take some time and get settled. I'm gonna have a look around. I might come back before going back outside or maybe not. Not sure yet but we'll be able to communicate if I do leave." He pointed toward a large mirror that grown out of the far wall. It was taller than the new cell's occupant and each of its three panels were half again as wide as her shoulders.

As she watched, a comfortable leather armchair formed from thin air. A stand grew out of the floor next to the chair's right arm. Between one blink and another a pair of headphones was dropped atop the table's surface, a microphone extending out of the right cup.

"The mirror can show you what I see," her captor explained. "You just have to sit down and think about it happening and it'll start. The headphones are if you want to hear as well. I don't expect you'll be talking to me unless you can help it but just in case all you have to do is speak into the microphone and I should be able to hear you."

He hesitated a moment longer, but when she made no move to respond he shrugged and stepped back and turned to walk out onto the ledge. From out there he looked around, marveling at the view from the hole he had formed in the Shinju's massive body. Like a woodpecker or an owl, Kaguya now had nest within the very being she had merged with in order to gain control of the world he called home. That thought brought a small smile and chuckle out of him, she had compared her new home to be a cage for a bird. How fitting a description indeed.

A moment of thought later and he was gone from the area. Opening his eyes after the shift he found himself standing in what was most likely an entrance hall. Having no shoes to take off, he wiped his feet on the mat out of sheer force of habit before stepping onto the polished wooden floor of the manor. For a time he wandered aimlessly, finding a kitchen, dining room and even a study. Why his mindscape was such an accurate portrayal of a functioning house he didn't really know, and he was self-aware enough to admit matters of the mind were not his specialty.

He found himself chuckling at the thought. "Given how many hits to the head I've taken it's actually kinda surprising I can function at all if I really think about it. But really if I need to know about the mind I'd just ask a Yamanaka about that stuff." The comment struck a chord and he found a brief surge of melancholy at the unintended self-reminder of the fate of that clan and all others. But then a thought struck him, and he stopped in the middle of yet another hallway. "Wait, if all the shinobi and people were absorbed into me then wouldn't all their memories be locked up in here somewhere?"

A new goal in mind, Naruto tried to think of where such a place could be only to feel an urge pushing at the edge of his thoughts. Just like when he'd been feeling the impulse to find Kaguya, only instead of being pulled into some other part of his mindscape far from his current position…it was telling him to walk further down the hall.

Following the pull of his own mind, the former blonde continued walking. He passed several doors but ignored them for now, finding the urge to reach whatever his destination could be. Thankfully, it wasn't much longer before he found himself standing before a pair of plain rice-paper doors. A plaque had been placed just above the lintel, bearing a single word which he could only presume to be the intended purpose of the room beyond the currently closed doors. "Library huh?" he questioned. "Y'know…that kinda makes sense."

He reached out to open the doors, only for them to slide apart the moment the thought entered his mind. The sight of the room beyond was enough to blow any thoughts on that little detail out of his mind and into orbit. The room itself was open in design. A wide, open space in the middle covered by a thick rug colored a burnt orange and occupied by tables and chairs placed around for leisurely reading or ardent study. Built into the far wall was a large fireplace of stone, a fire burning merrily within its confines spreading a pleasant warmth the young man could feel the moment he stepped into the room.

But the one thing in the room that truly baffled Naruto, was the books. Each of the walls to his left, right and even the wall the door led through, was covered in shelves of books. Colors, thickness, height, there were representations of every combination of those he could think of. There seemed to be no organization or reason to their order, as if someone had just thrown each book they came across into an open spot until the shelves were full. Another thing of note, the walls stretched higher than he believed a normal mansion could withstand. So high did the shelves of books rise that they vanished into darkness above and continued on.

Instinctively, he knew exactly what these books were. Each of them was a life. The memories of every being that had been absorbed by Madara's final act were kept within the millions of tomes kept before him. And it was the moment the realization struck him, that he once again felt the weight of his circumstances settle onto his shoulders. He had been chosen as the mind to the Shinju's body, making him into what is basically a **god**. But everyone he knew was now a part of his body.

"Well, their memories are anyway," he corrected himself while letting himself fall into the chair closest to the fireplace. "I don't think the Shinigami would have let me keep their souls so they're probably in the afterlife now. If they haven't been reincarnated or something." Then his brow furrowed. "The old sage said you had a will and that it would choose who was in control," he called out to the air around him. "I'm guessing you've been giving me the hints?" There was a pause, and then a brief pressure on his mind, as if someone had laid a hand on his head and then pulled away after only a brief rest.

Figuring that would be the closest thing to an answer as he would get for the time being, Naruto sighed and did his best to push the air of melancholy back for a time. "Well, I'm not doing any good just sitting around pitying myself." A grunt and burst of movement brought him back to his feet and he looked about the room again. "I'll organize this all later. Right now I need to get back outside and start learning what my new body's capable of."

Reaching out with his will with what was slowly becoming better ease, he caused the mindscape to shift again. The plush carpet of the library vanished between one breath and the next, replaced by warm stone in the same moment the fire-warmed air was switched for the gentle heat of the sun. He didn't need to open his eyes to know he had returned to the circle in the pool's center and chose to simply lower himself to the ground in order to once again take up the lotus position.

When he opened his eyes, it was to find himself once again looking upon the seemingly endless void of the Kamui. With a grin and a rising sense of excitement, the former genin returned to his feet and brought his hands together before his face, index and middle fingers straightening and the rest curling into fists as he formed the 't' shape he had used so often in his life. Chakra leaped to his call and with a surge of the energy he called out the techniques name. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

Power erupted from him and with his new eyes he could see the chakra, a shining cobalt against the ebony backdrop of the void, forming into the two bodies he wanted to create. In an instant the chakra solidified into a pair of flawless copies of himself. One of them nodded to its creator and immediately began gathering up the scrolls that had been left for him. Sealing the others into the now empty clothes section of the one he had unraveled. For a moment the original considered putting on at least a pair of pants over the heart boxers, but decided against it. Instead he and the other clone made quick work gathering up what clothes had landed on the platform they were standing on when they had been expelled from their holding space and giving them to the clone who returned them to their spot.

Once finished, it lifted the now sole item and used the thoughtfully attached cloth strap across its body, waving cheekily to the pair and crouching, hand against the grown between its feet. There was a grunt of effort and it kicked off the ground, shattering the block it had launched from and sending a wave of force crashing into the two left behind. The clone itself was sent hurtling up into the void, passing by the cube it had been aiming for like a rocket and only just managing to lash out with a hand to grab another as it passed, fingers digging trenches into the solid stone just barely slowing his momentum and stopping him from flying past it.

The doppelganger hung there for a time, sweat pouring down its brow as it turned to look back down toward its point of takeoff. A calming breath later and he scrambled up onto his new perch. "Sorry!" The original and fellow copy glared up in the direction the shout came from, but shrugged it off and turned to face each other.

"Alright," Naruto's feet shifted, turning his left to face his copy left arm raised to defend and right arm poised near his waist in a loose fist. "We're keeping it plain Taijutsu for right now."

The chakra construct nodded, adopting an identical stance. "Right, though if we're gonna be around people boss you may need to learn how turn this look off."

"That's what number two up there is for." He could feel it, his heart beginning to pump, chakra threading its way through his muscles, the sensations of a coming fight. "He gets to do the hard thinking while we get acquainted with this new body." That last syllable ended in the same moment he charged, trying to draw first 'blood'. But his clone wasn't caught flatfooted like he hoped, meeting his charge and throwing a punch that slammed into his own striking fist. Knuckles met in an epic fist bump, shockwaves from the point of impact further damaging the stone under them and stirring their hair in the artificial wind. "Now stop jawing and get to punching!"

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Time was meaningless in the realm of Kamui. No clocks to mark its passage. No sun to change day to night and back again. Which really for someone of Naruto's circumstances it wouldn't be much of a problem thanks to his new status as an immortal. So, he honestly had no idea how much time had passed since his fight with the clone began, or the fight with the second, the third and so on.

They would fight until the copy dispelled, another would burst into reality and they would fight again. Lather, rinse, repeat. He didn't sweat, his breathing didn't become labored, and they had destroyed a lot of blocks.

As a side he found it he still had the ability to fly he'd gotten from when Hagoromo had gifted him the Yang Crest. That was one gift he was immensely thankful for, immortal or not he was not eager to tempt fate by endlessly falling through the void he was currently stuck living inside of. "That reminds me," he mused aloud whilst **finally** slipping into a pair of pants as the clone left in charge of his belongings sat nearby. "Did you add learning the **Sharingan** techniques to the list?"

"Yup," said list was waved at him to emphasize the reply. Turns out his clone had the common sense to dig through the scroll in search of note taking supplies. Though he was even more surprised they had been included in the seals to begin with, but never look a gift horse in the mouth.

Naruto also found a rather pleasant surprise when he finally finished the fighting rounds and called the clone back to himself. When the clone had landed, he found himself looking not at skin the color of bone and marked with black designs. Instead, the clone had somehow managed to change his skin back to that of his original shade of pink and the third eye was nowhere to be seen while the main of blonde hair spread out almost reminding him of the lions he'd seen in pictures.

He had, of course, demanded to know what the clone had done, and the answer left him speechless. Could…could it really be that easy?! Not quite believing himself, the teen turned ageless closed his eyes and sent a silent request to the deity that had chosen him as the body's mind. To withdraw its power for a time and let him assume a less eye-catching form.

A sense of amusement rose up to greet his questing thought, and then felt a cooling sensation the tips of his fingers and toes. Opening his eyes, he turned them down to his hands, and saw the pink spreading across them. The white receded, like fog lifting as the sun shines, and following it was the sensation of cold. Feeling as if his body was slowly submerging into the cool water, and a quick glance further down showed the same happening to his legs and feet.

Original and clone had watched, mesmerized, as the transformation continued. The clone could see the third eye closing, the slight bulge of skin receding into the boss' forehead and the skin itself melding so flawlessly not even a practiced eye could have found any hints of its original state. The whisker marks grew smaller, becoming almost like pinstripes as they originally had been for the majority of their shared memory. Finally, they watched together as the white was pulled into the center of the whirlpool around his navel.

That could only mean the seal somehow had remained intact. Naruto could actually feel the Shinju withdrawing behind the doors that had represented it in the original configuration of his mindscape. _'Granted it was placed by an actual_ **god** _,'_ he reminded himself. _'Makes sense it would still be around since it was connected to my soul.'_ Though he could tell the seal wasn't locked, just closed to limit the flow of power into his body. The key was till there was well, thoughts of it brought the marks out onto his skin, five glowing flames at the tips of his fingers showing all he needed to do to seal the god tree away was to lock the seal. But he let it fade a moment later, unable to fight the smile his lips formed when the barest hint of approval drifted out from the seal.

Had the tree been testing him?

When he felt no sensation which he could interpret to serve as a reply to that thought Naruto was forced to let it go for later. It is hard to have a conversation when one half of the duo was unresponsive after all. He chose, instead, to put his mind toward the sensations his once-again changed body was providing.

The first thing he noticed was that he felt, for lack of a better word, heavier. It was immediately apparent that with the Shinju not adding as much of its pure natural chakra into his system that his body would not be as capable. Although a quick test on a nearby cube made it quite obvious that even without his full strength he was more than capable of physical destruction. It just took a little more effort in this form. "Still good to know what I can do in both forms," he commented to his clone who nodded his agreement. Another thing he noticed was that he still had the marks on his hands, the golden sun and ebon moon standing out just as much against his skin's pinkish hue as it did the white of earlier.

Such a small detail was easily enough hidden by a pair of gloves, so he wasn't too worried about such things. An issue that was going to be difficult for himself to get over, however, was that while his eyes maintained the bright blue of his origin…they were void of pupil in a manner identical to that of the Hyuga clan. Another visible reminder of his past, and his new existence.

 _Still_ , he thought while willing his chakra into motion. Slowly, his body began to lift into the air, free of gravity's pull and his lips quirked slightly upward at the corners. _At least there are some perks._ Crossing his legs, the hovering blonde held out his hand for the clone to place the notepad in and let him go over the list.

Chakra Control Training

Pick a Taijutsu Style

Learn to use Sharingan abilities so I can leave here

Elemental Training

"That's it?" It was not a difficult undertaking to realize he was incredibly unimpressed with his clone's work over the past few hours.

"Hey," the clone jabbed a finger at his creator indignantly. "We can't exactly make too much of a plan until after we see what's outside this place. We have absolutely no idea what's happened or how long we've been here."

"Well couldn't you have come up with plans on how to go about **getting** the information after I got out of here?!"

"We both know you're just gonna make a crapton of clones, make them transform, and send them out to explore while you set up a home base or whatever," the clone shot back. "Hell, you're gonna leave clones back here to train once you **do** get good enough with that pink eye to leave."

"I…you…SHUT UP!" Fist met face and with an explosion of left over chakra, Naruto was once again left alone with his thoughts and the flying blocks. He took some time to breathe, forcing himself to take it easy, let his irritation fade so he could think clearly. Canceling the flight, he uncrossed his legs and placed the notepad to the side, pen slipped into the spiral along its top so it wouldn't get lost.

"Well, first thing's first I'm going to need a big enough area for a large number of clones to train in different things." He wanted to get his chakra under control so that'd be the focus for now. He'd start making groups for elemental training once he was able to make a basic **Rasengan** with only one hand. Once that milestone was down the clones and himself would focus on **Henge, Kawarimi,** and **Shunshin.**

He had both witnessed and demonstrated how effective those techniques could be even against veteran opponents. All he needed was an opening, a kink in their armor, and he would have them. He paused and found himself chuckling. "I wonder what Iruka, Kakashi or Jiraiya would think of me actually planning ahead for once." Still, he needed to concentrate on the hear and now so he shook off the nostalgia and melancholy once again in order to address his current goals. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

Twenty copies of himself were born of smoke and without any instructions necessary the doppelgangers shared a brief nod before taking off into the void. Over the next several minutes they flew around, each finding and grabbing a cube and pushing it back toward the point of takeoff. They brought them together in a mess of towers and uneven spaces, creating plentiful amounts of vertical surfaces for the first part of the chakra control training. The final result was an uneven, somewhat circular terrain approximately eight-hundred meters in diameter. A few clones were placing some last-minute additions when their creator landed on the highest point in the new platform. "That'll do for now!" his voice echoed into the darkness, bringing the pupiless eyes of his copies up to lock onto his figure. "Everyone get started on the training, I'll make some more and then join you."

In moments the sounds of falling, curses and laughter began to ring out. The chaotic rabble that had become known as a staple for Naruto's presence. Little did he know…that it would only be a precursor to the chaos his life would become once he began to begin life in his home dimension anew.

 **XXXXX Skip XXXXX**

 _It was utterly confusing, how small she was._

 _His wife had screamed, her body wracked with pain, for hours on end while he watched. Unable to ease her torment save for holding her hand, trying not to show his own pain caused by her grip being strong enough to grind his knuckles against each other._

 _But it was over, and the doctor was holding the new human his wife had brought into this world as he watched on lost in wonder._

 _Some part of him noticed she had been cleaned, pristine pale skin standing out against the light pink of the blanket she had been wrapped in. All thoughts, however, ended upon seeing the doctor holding out his child, offering him the chance to hold her for the first time._

 _He swallowed, finding his mouth had gone drier than the sunbaked dunes of Kaze no Kuni, and raised his arms. These arms had shattered stone with the ease a civilian would crack an egg. They had lifted objects weighing amounts measuring in tons and thrown them like little rubber balls. With those arms rippling in well-maintained muscle he had fought countless battles in the service of Iwagakure. But when he took that little girl into his arms, they were gentle, so gentle many who knew him would believe him incapable of such tenderness._

 _He felt her stir, and then those little eyes opened. Curious, searching pink gazed up into the adoring onyx gaze of her father…and lips quirked into a small smile. Gurgling in the manner all babies do, she reached one tiny, weak hand out to him to which he offered a finger which she tried to grip._

" _Hello Kurotsuchi," his deep voice rumbled in his chest but came out only as a whisper as his lips curled into a smile of his own. "My beautiful little girl."_

With a gasp Naruto found himself once more in the mindscape where he had been a moment before. Stumbling back from the sudden change in perception he let the book he had been holding fall from his grip as his other hand flailed about in an effort to find support. Questing fingers locked onto the corner of the table they found and he clutched it as if afraid even a moment's carelessness would see him flying into space.

His throat burned with each labored breath and his eyes stung as he felt a wetness travelling down his cheeks. Those eyes were locked onto the book lying on the dark orange carpet as innocent as could be, but it wasn't fooling him.

He had returned to the mindscape, his goal being to further explore the room he was currently in. He'd wanted to investigate the books before he made any changes and decided to grab a book at random. The brown-bound thing hadn't reacted when he plucked it from the shelf, but upon opening his world shifted with the suddenness of lightning striking and he found himself witnessing the memories of Kitsuchi and the birth of the girl who would grow into the young woman Naruto had met during the war.

He felt every emotion. He felt the cloth of the blanket wrapped around the precious little one's body, and the weight of that body in his arms. His chest was still tight and phantoms of the joy and terror of a new father yet lingered in his heart. So intense had the experience been, that he was almost terrified of doing it again.

And yet…a part of him longed for it. To search the books and discover sensations he never knew existed, let alone imagined feeling. The temptation to lose himself in the memories grew to astonishing heights…and then with a wrench of mental control he slammed it down and forced it away for the time being.

Standing on trembling legs, Naruto retrieved the book and placed it back into the spot he had taken it from. A last, steadying breath was taken, and then he stepped back with new determination burning inside of himself. Reaching out this time with his will in place of his hands, the newborn immortal began to direct his mental plane's form.

As he watched the walls became masses of color, shifting and changing to meet his specifications. Along the wall to his right he watched as a pillar rose from the ground bearing the symbol for shinobi as the headbands worn during the war once had.

The shelves began to take form again, the shifting colors solidifying into five large sections and several smaller ones after. A circular plate of bronze appeared at chest level in each section. The swirled leaf of Konoha. The four waved lines of Kiri. The cloud of Kumo. The hourglass-like form of Suna. The stones of Iwa. Following the five larger villages were marks from villages that boasted their own shinobi force. The opposite he created was for those not of the shinobi occupation. Each marked by their country's symbol and was, understandably, quite a deal larger than the shinobi side.

Letting his arms drop, Naruto turned toward his next self-appointed task. A wave of his hand cleared the room of furniture and he moved to stand in its direct middle where he closed his eyes and let his will seep into the mindscape. His goal was easy to find, nine great beacons of memory larger and brighter than those of the human minds he had absorbed.

These minds, however, were not simply copies of the minds of their originators. Naruto could feel the difference, for sentient and powerful the biju may have been, they did not possess a soul. Artificial constructs given a will, a life, by an alien being with powers akin to a god. Thus, while the souls of Naruto's companions and species passed on into the afterlife, he had truly absorbed every aspect of the nine. _But_ , he reminded himself as the presences began to move with his direction, _since they are absorbed I can also bring them out again._

With that in mind, his mental form reached out for the first of the nine. With an untrained hand he took hold of the memories, only to feel them shift through his grip like the sand that had once formed this particular member's body. Furrowing his brow, Naruto strengthened his resolve and grabbed it again, this time feeling it give to his direction.

Extracting it from the folds of his mind was not an easy task. Giving this collection of memories, thoughts and emotions, its own avatar separate from himself within his own mind…infinitely harder. Unseen by the concentrating blonde, the patch of carpet directly in front of him began to change in color. A dark blue, four-pointed star formed, a dot between each point and a circle forming around it to complete what he would have recognized as the Ichibi's unique eye. A new image, the first's complete mirror, formed next to it. From these two more marks began to spread until forming a circular pattern Naruto could have laid in with his feet and hair just barely reaching its edge.

The dark orange of the carpet within these alien marks began to change into the tan of desert sand. Once completely changed, the eyes began to rise, actual sand forming and lifting along with it, forming the face that had once glared at the blonde with bloodlust and hate. But the eyes closed, disappearing into the black area similar to that of a racoon once the head finished forming. Broad shoulders and hunched back followed, leaning the tanuki's head forward as if bowing, while a long tail grew from its back to lay on the floor.

Feeling the vessel he had desired nearing completion, Naruto began to channel the gathered memories into the shell. When the process finally finished, it left him light-headed and panting as he knelt before the reformed body of his old acquaintance, albeit a much smaller version. The sand tanuki stirred, as if waking from a deep sleep, and a mouth of jagged teeth stretched open in a yawn. Naruto looked up to see the reformed Shukaku stretching. "Good morning."

The unique eyes of the Ichibi met Naruto's own changed ones and matching smiles spread across their faces. **"Good to see ya blondie,"** one large paw reached out, helping the blonde to his feet. **"How long we been out?"**

"I don't have a damn clue," Naruto, ever the bluntly honest guy, answered as per his usual. "Really I just woke up a few hours ago and I'm still getting used to everything."

Shukaku nodded. **"Well it's good to know I'm not going to be gone forever. Though I am curious why you brought me out first."**

Naruto chuckled. It seemed the tanuki wasn't going to be delving too much into the emotional stuff, something he was kind of thankful for as he was a bit exhausted in that area. "A couple of reasons actually," he replied while conjuring a chair to sit in. "First off, honestly yours was the first batch of memories out of the group I found. Second, after I found you I realized having your defenses when we head out into the world as a backup would be a good idea."

" **Why mine?"** the racoon-like head tilted to the side, a sign of obvious curiosity. **"Aren't you immortal now?"**

"Yeah, and all that really means is I'll never die of old age, which is nice and all, but we don't know if I can't be **killed** by anything," he said. "And if I do die, would I just reform like you guys used to or does the Shinju just pick someone else's memories and stick them in control of the body?" He held his hands out as if weighing the two options on them. "I'm not really eager to find out if either of them are the answer or if I just die and that's it. So, I'm gonna be a bit paranoid and having your sand around helps make sure I keep living."

He paused and scratched at his chin. "Although we'll need to pick a form other than the gourd shape Gaara kept his in. I have absolutely no idea what's out there so there's no telling how much a giant gourd will stand out to anyone." He then chuckled ruefully. "That is…if there's anyone left to actually be seen by. We don't even know if anyone wasn't taken in by the Shinju."

" **None of that!"** a claw of heavily compressed sand thumped against the top of Naruto's head. Ignoring the glare and curse from the blonde he continued speaking. **"Thinking like a damn debbie downer isn't going to do you, or me, any good. Just focus on what you** _ **can**_ **do for now. That means you get the rest of my siblings out here, your train that scrawny little ass of yours off, and then you go out and make something of your immortal life or kami help me I will convince the others to take your body on joy rides while you're asleep!"**

Blue, pupiless eyes wide as dinner plates stared at the sand beast, blinking slowly as the brain behind them registered what had been said. And then, Naruto began to smile, and to chuckle. "Never woulda pegged you as a the one to give me an inspirational speech," he ignored Shukaku's indignant grumbling and pushed himself back to his feet, dismissing the chair to clear the area again. "But you're right, staying here won't do us any good."

He began to shift his body, squaring his shoulders and preparing himself for his task. "You may need to back up a bit," he told his large companion. "I'm gonna be bringing the others out so feel free to explore just don't go too far please."

Shukaku nodded, stepping back towards the corner of the room where he could watch everything without risking throwing anything off. As a blue flame began to ignite in front of the teen turned titan, his lips curled into a grin. He wondered what life would be like accompanying the wild punk, and he was excited to find out.

 **XXXXX And Cut XXXXX**

 **That's where we find ourselves folks, Naruto reformed, Kaguya is confirmed to be in the story, and the biju will be offering thoughts and opinions on the world to come. Plus, who doesn't like Naruto having to deal with voices in his head?**

 **Now, here is where I address the issue that seems to be on a lot of minds in the reviewers: The Pairing. Makes sense considering I brought it up.**

 **First off I'll get this straight out, we are most likely looking at a harem. Sorry folks who don't like those, but I will try to keep it from becoming ridiculous and I'll leave some for the other lads out there.**

 **Speaking of, I'd like to hear thoughts on people good for other males in the story that way I don't just build Naruto up but forget everyone else.**

 **For now, that's all I'm going to say on that matter.**

 **Another issue I have is the last arc, the Quincy Arc. As of right now I have absolutely no intention of making that a thing in this story.**

 **I might, MIGHT, bring in some surviving Quincy and just say they felt the signature of one active in the world alongside a Shinigami and decided to investigate. Who it is and what their role may be in the story I've yet to decide and we shall see what happens when it happens.**

 **Once again, I invite you to speculate and even make suggestions for this topic. I like feedback, shows my work is getting attention and inspiring thought which, I believe, is a dream come true for anyone who creates anything be it written, drawn, painted, or otherwise.**

 **Once again, I offer my thanks to Kamen Rider Arashi, the scene with Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi was his idea. Unfortunately, I myself am not a father so I'm not sure how well that came across, any fathers out there got opinions on it?**

 **One last thing, is it legal for someone to have a site on a website for patrons where they get paid for fanfiction? I honestly have no idea since I never considered it until recently and that could help a little with income issues.**

 **Still, not important right now. Well, I'm off to write some more wacky stuff. See y'all next time and I thank you for coming and reading my work and wish you well with the rest of your day. See ya next time, Yurei King signing out!**


End file.
